


Hey Hey What Can I Do

by mosvalsky



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: AU, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drabble, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Rock and Roll, band au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-29
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-10 22:05:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2041926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mosvalsky/pseuds/mosvalsky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Small slices of love and rock and roll.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

"Dúnadan!" Called Bilbo before taking a drag from his cigarette, pressed firmly between two thick fingers, then laying his hands on his waist. 

"Hmmm?" Aragorn answered absentmindedly as he rummaged through the refrigerator for a drink. 

"Check this out," Bilbo excitedly replied, now almost pacing in the sitting room. 

The hiss of an opened beer sounded as Aragorn returned to the main room in their newly rented New Zealand cottage. He stood a few feet behind the circle the three men had made. Frodo was clutching his bass while sitting lazily on the ground, Legolas was sitting up across from him, humming along to Frodo's noodling, and Bilbo stood above them, motioning for Aragorn to come closer.

"Check it," he repeated, taking another drag. 

Frodo glanced up, taking note of Aragorn's presence, and grinned. He began the riff that Bilbo was so thrilled about, and halfway through, Aragorn found himself unable to wait for the end of it, exclaiming, "that's it, isn't it? That's the ending we've been looking for!" 

"Yeah!" Frodo said, his pride showing clear through every feature of his face. Legolas leaned forward and clapped him on the shoulder. "Two months overdue, but the halfling finally did it!"

"Well, if you would've actually helped..." Frodo returned with the same teasing tone, "wait, watch who you're calling halfling, you tiny sod!"

Legolas grinned, "Still an inch taller."


	2. Dazed and Confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was, to say the least, an interesting night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the complete and utter lack of transitions. *hangs head in shame*

The air at the Green Dragon was thick with smoke and hot with body heat. It seemed that everyone in the Shire decided to come tonight. No one could hear anything anyone said over the surfeit of gaily shouting voices, and it was nearly impossible to get across the room without roughly shoving people out of the way. 

Legolas, as usual, was greatly enjoying himself amongst all the people. He was in the center of the floor, dancing wildly to whatever was being played, and laughing with whomever was nearest. Aragorn was less inclined to be surrounded by the obnoxiously loud and drunk people in the bar, but after losing a recent bet to the blond vocalist, he was more or less forced to have fun cavorting with the crowd.

While briefly looking for an exit from the dance floor for a breather, he managed to make eye contact with Legolas. He was simultaneously relieved and annoyed. He had found his friend, but now there was no way he could leave. So much for a breather.

He pushed aside person after person, apologizing profusely each time (though no one could hear him), until he got to Legolas. When he finally did, the singer reached out for his hands and brought him into the dance. Any hope of relaxing for a second was immediately doused as Aragorn's arms were taken from him as Legolas pulled him to and fro to the beat of the song. 

The dancing wouldn't have been so bad, really, if the crowd weren't so loud. The music could barely be heard over everyone, causing off-beat dancing and chaotic grinding, and Aragorn was completely lost without being able to identify the beat. He clashed against Legolas's dancing and couldn't begin to make their moves mesh. He began to feel frustrated until Legolas pulled him closer, leading his hands to exactly match the music. With time, Aragorn seemed to be getting it and Legolas smiled brilliantly. No longer needing to lead, he let go of his hands and instead brought them to Aragorn's waist. The guitarist felt a jolt run through him as the hands touched him, and a warmth settled over him. 

Legolas seemed unperturbed by the slight jump Aragorn gave and continued his hold at his waist, gyrating to the beat of the song. With a sudden burst of courage and urge to appropriately respond to the situation, Aragorn found himself putting a hand of his own onto Legolas's thin waist, his other hand thrown in the air. The patch of bare skin he held onto between his jeans and his half-risen shirt felt so hot under his fingers he worried they might burn, but he kept his grip firm. 

The song continued. It seemed to go on forever, and their hold on each other seemed to span far longer than the three minutes of the tune. Aragorn's head was rushing and Legolas could feel his body growing hotter by the second. The song needed to end so they could regain their pride and sanity.

When it did end, it was followed by a particularly slow bit, so most of the dancers cleared from the floor, leaving the two, still clutching at each other, easily seen by those seated at the tables.

Those such as the two Bagginses, who were not as fond of either dancing or loud bars, but still agreed to come after an exceptionally well-spoken plea from Legolas. However, they were having their share of fun. Frodo was leaning against Bilbo with his drink in hand, watching the dancing, while Bilbo scrawled out some meaningless lyrics on a napkin. He was quite engaged in his writing, so when Frodo hit him on the shoulder to get his attention, he jumped and let out a small yelp, which went ignored as Frodo said at the top of his voice so Bilbo would hear him, "look!" And pointed towards the other two band members enjoying themselves on the floor. Bilbo chuckled. "Wanna ruin their fun?"

They made their way towards their target, dancing idly to keep their cover. When they finally got within proximity, they began. Frodo was on one side of the couple and Bilbo was on the other, and with a shared gaze and a nod, they pretended to "accidentally" bump into them enough to send Aragorn and Legolas into each other's arms.

The feeling as their bodies were pushed together was mutually electric, and as they regained their balance, their eyes met in a powerful gaze. 

Frodo and Bilbo just stood there laughing, believing they succeeded in ruining their time, but when they realized their mistake, they both groaned. 

"Man, let's just leave," Frodo said. Bilbo nodded. It was clear they would be left alone any case, so they may as well head home. It wasn't as if either wanted to be there anyway.

***************  
The two stumbled out of the crowd and into the alley behind the bar. The cold air met them immediately as they stepped outside. Legolas was clutching tightly at Aragorn's shirt, and Aragorn had his hands wound in his band mate's silky blond hair. He crushed his lips against his own and sent them stumbling backwards until Legolas came in contact with the brick of the building's walls. Aragorn broke the kiss as he pushed his body firmly against Legolas'. The singer moaned at the roughness and Aragorn immediately brought their lips back together.

The kiss was too long coming. After years and years of pent up mutual desire, it was all they could do to not to break their teeth in the furiousness they kissed with.

But with a heated gaze, they tore apart from each other. This wasn't what they had meant to do.

**********

Bag End always seemed cozier when it was just the two of them. The parties their bandmates always seemed to bring with then were fun, sure, but it was sometimes nice to get away from them. The air was finally cleared of chaos and the hearth was warmly lit. Calm reigned as soon as the two Bagginses stepped through the threshold.

"Tea?" Bilbo asked, immediately walking towards the kitchen.

"Yes, please," Frodo replied, seating himself in his favorite armchair by the fireplace. "It's ironic, isn't it?" he called out after thinking a minute.

"What is?" Bilbo called back, still busy with the tea.

"We're the rhythm section. Aren't we supposed to be the noisy ones?" 

It was several minutes before Frodo got a reply, and he had almost forgotten he had asked a question when Bilbo handed him a steaming cup and said, "No. The singer and lead guitar? They're noisy by their very nature. Us? We're not heard quite so much. But we pull everything together."

Frodo sighed with a smile, "you're right, as always."

Bilbo nodded, "don't you forget that."

They stayed quiet for some time, the silence oddly comfortable.

But Frodo was just considering breaking that silence when the door opened and entered a rather guilty looking Legolas and Aragorn. 

"What have you two been up to?" Bilbo asked nonchalantly. Aragorn glared at him. Legolas ignored him.

Frodo quietly laughed as he saw them stumble through the living room. Legolas sat down in front of the fire and Aragorn chose the chair furthest from everyone else. It was a highly suspicious entrance.

The silence then seemed palpable and awkward beyond belief, but luckily Bilbo had been through enough of these situations that he diffused it simply enough by rising to his feet and asking "Tea?" 

Legolas, Aragorn, and even Frodo nodded vigorously. Bilbo just smiled to himself. Typical.


	3. Rock and Roll

Of all the shows they had played, this was by far the worst. 

It was now the sixth song into the set, and there was no improvement on the horizon. Legolas was so drunk he could hardly function, let alone sing properly. Bilbo's drumming was off, setting the beat far slower than usual, which in turn messed up Frodo, who was having quite some difficulty figuring out where the song was. And Aragorn failed to listen to anyone else, so he didn't even realize he was three bars off and his solo should have already ended. 

The crowd was more forgiving than most. At the end of the show, no one threw anything harmful onstage and there was no booing, but there was a distinct lack of applause. For the most part, the band was surprised they were that generous after their atrocious performance. 

For the most part.

"We weren't that bad," Legolas complained as he attempted to haul a speaker into the back of their van. With the weight, he lost his balance and would've dropped it if it weren't for Aragorn standing right beside him.

"I got it," he said gently, taking the large black box from him. "And we were that bad."

"Worse, actually!" Bilbo said with a wide fake smile, leaning against the van as he watched the rest of his bandmates do the heavy lifting. 

"We aughta just learn from it and move on," Frodo added. He set a hand on Bilbo's shoulder to get his attention, then handed him the cymbal he was holding, "you can at least pack your own equipment."

"This is the last bit anyway," the drummer grumbled as he put the cymbal in its proper place.

"We didn't even get booed off stage," said Frodo, "it could have been worse."

"Yeah," Legolas agreed, nodding towards the bass player, then turning his attention back to Aragorn. "You guys haven't seen how bad it can be sometimes. We weren't that bad."

Aragorn rolled his eyes, stepping towards Legolas and folding his arms, "just because you were in that stupid band in Mirkwood doesn't mean you know everything about being in a band."

"It wasn't a 'stupid band,'" Legolas replied crossly, "it used to mean everything to me, and I was in it long enough to learn a thing or two,"

"Yeah, before they kicked you out for being DRUNK ONSTAGE CONSTANTLY." 

The two of them stared at eachother, fuming, several minutes before the rhythm section decided to interfere. 

"Guys, stop," Frodo said gently, stepping between the two as a barrier. Aragorn raised his head and stomped off. Legolas looked down at Frodo sadly.

Bilbo watched as Aragorn set off in some direction and sighed loudly, saying reluctantly, "I'll go talk to him."

"Were we really that bad?" Legolas asked quietly, rethinking his earlier judgement.

Frodo managed to chuckle despite the tenseness hanging in the air like smoke, "no, we weren't. I've seen plenty of worse shows."

Legolas scoffed, "like what?"

"Like your old band for instance," Frodo teased. He was pleased to find that Legolas laughed. Maybe this situation was easily diffusable after all.

*******  
There was nowhere specific that Aragorn seemed headed to, yet he walked along briskly and persistently, as if he were set on quickly arriving at some place he knew of. 

The drummer was having quite a hard time catching up to him, so he eventually settled for shouting, "Oi! Aragorn!"

He stopped walking, turning his head towards the source of the call. 

"Get your melodramatic arse over here, you worthless guitarist!" Bilbo shouted as soon as he caught Aragorn's eye.

Aragorn narrowed his eyes. "If you want to talk, you'll just have to walk a little faster." 

Bilbo grumbled extensively, but scrambled into a half-run and eventually caught up to him. "Would you kindly explain what you're doing?"

"I need a drink," he explained simply. 

Bilbo knew better than to take him at his word though. After all, they brought plenty of beer with them. If he just wanted a drink, he could've gotten one out of the cooler.

"I'm not going through this nonsense," Bilbo replied firmly, "Talk."

 

Aragorn sighed. There was no way around this and hardly a reason to fight it, so at length he replied, "I'm just afraid that no one is taking this band seriously. It means the world to be, and to see this kind of stuff happening with none of you guys caring...well, it just sucks."

There was a short silence before Bilbo replied, "is that it?"

Aragorn nodded.

Bilbo shortly found himself smiling, "well that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

Aragon frowned.

"Now will you come back already?"

He was slightly annoyed, but he reluctantly agreed, silently returning with Bilbo to their van.

The bassist, however, was not so inclined to share his lack of words, and filled the fairly short walk with more words than most speak in an entire day.

The last of which, spoken within hearing distance of the other band members, was a much applauded "we should go to Denny's." 

The agreement was unanimous.


	4. Mudshark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really short chapter, but enjoy! :D

The band for the most part liked to believe they were a fairly low-key bunch. No late parties or binge drinking, just evening tea and a ten-thirty curfew. The press, however, thought differently.

"Do you see this?" Aragorn slammed a newspaper in front of Bilbo's face and pointed to a the boldfaced title of a rather unflattering article. "I can't believe they would say such a thing. I would NEVER do that with a groupie."

"Do what with whom?" Frodo asked from the other side of the room after a moment.

Instead of answering properly, Aragorn replied mostly in grunts and frustrated noises. Frodo failed to catch most of it, except for an oddly clearly annunciated "seafood!" He decided to let this one go.

"Oh, they'll believe whatever they want. It won't change anything about us," Bilbo said calmly, just wanting Aragorn to stop ranting. 

"You're right, of course. But it still upsets me!" After a pause, he continued, "I'm gonna go tell Legolas. I'm sure he won't be happy about it either. You should see what they wrote about him." Shaking his head and muttering, he left Bilbo to his tea and stormed out to find the vocalist.

"Is he alright?" Frodo asked after a moment had passed and Aragorn was definitely gone. 

Bilbo laughed, "I imagine so. But best to leave him be for now."


	5. I'm Gonna Crawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Probably about as angsty as this is going to get

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the positive feedback! ^^

It was late. Very late. 

"Where the fuck is Legolas?" Aragorn finally asked, penetrating the silence that had been going on most of the night. 

Bilbo shook his head. Frodo shrugged.

"We have a huge gig tomorrow and he decides to pull this stunt!" He followed his words up with a string of curses, which the rhythm section watching him found more amusing than concerning.

"I'm going to go look for him." He said at last, grabbing his jacket from a chair, "you guys stay here."

The Bagginses nodded, then returned to their own work. Bilbo's being a very important cup of tea and a nice pastry, and Frodo's being a magazine that weakly held his interest. 

"Why does he always care so much?" Frodo asked offhandedly.

"Someone has to," Bilbo replied.

Another prolonged silence occurred as they returned to their occupations. 

Eventually, Frodo set down his magazine and said seriously, "I feel like all this fighting between them is gonna break up the band. I'm worried."

Bilbo smiled. "Frodo, that's what I've always liked about you. Pure innocence."

Frodo stared, confusion evident in his eyes. Bilbo continued, "they won't break up the band. In fact, I wouldn't even consider it fighting. For them, it's....it's really more like foreplay."

***********  
After half an hour of searching, Aragorn had finally found Legolas. He was sitting in the gutter outside some poorly lit chain restaurant. His face was unrecognizable in the dark, but his hair could belong to no one else.

He may have been angry when he set out, but now he was just relieved to have found him. "Legolas, what are you doing here?"

He looked up from the street slowly, his empty, sunken eyes barely catching up with the movement of his head. Worry filled the guitarist, pooling in a painful pit in his stomach. "Legolas, why?" He asked for lack of better words.

"I'm drunk," he replied simply.

"And?" Aragorn responded, moving to pull him up to his feet, "you're always drunk."

"That's good drunk. I'm sad drunk."

"Lego, I think for you at this point, there's really no difference."

"Hey! Watch what you say, you...you..." His head tilted upwards with his mouth wide open, trying to figure out what to say, "I got nothing. But that, Aragorny, was MEAN."

'Aragorny?' Aragorn wondered distantly as he attempted to take in what was happening. "Legolas, you've finally lost your mind. Come on," he took his forearm forcefully and began to drag him back to the flat.

"Hey, where're you takin me," he mumbled, pulling to try and stop himself from getting dragged. But he didn't have the strength at the moment, as he didn't even seem able to support himself, let alone drag Aragorn back, as the guitarist soon found as Legolas collapsed, nearly taking him to the ground with him.

"Fucking hell, Legolas," Aragorn said defeated as he looked down at the form lying limp on the sidewalk. But his spirit wasn't quite broken yet, and he still had some strength, so he hauled the body up, and put his arms around his shoulders, supporting him. Slowly, he made his way back until the two of them were finally again on the doorstep of their familiar territory. 

"I'm sorry," Legolas whispered at last. Aragorn just barely heard it, and only half believed that Legolas actually said it. But he remained silent, biting back any reply he may have wanted to say.

*********

Once inside, Aragorn nearly threw Legolas onto the floor, saying loudly enough for everyone in the house to hear, "INTER-FUCKING-VENTION."

"What was that?" Came a voice from the kitchen.

"I think he said 'inter-fucking-vention," came a reply from the same place.

"What's that mean?"

"Hell if I know."

The two Bagginses poked their heads out from the kitchen and glanced around. When they saw the clearly wasted Legolas and unimaginably irritated Aragorn, their faces quickly grew serious.

"Legolas," Bilbo said as he walked out of the kitchen with arms crossed, "finally drink yourself to death?"

"That's not funny, Bilbo" Frodo admonished quietly, taking pity on the form on the floor who was now weakly attempting to sit up. "You drink too much, Legolas. It's worrying."

"Damn right!" Aragorn added, "and we have a show tomorrow! You'd better be able to sing!" It didn't really look like he would ever be able to sing again with the condition he was in, but he did tend to recover quickly, so there was a bit of hope.

"Come on, that's hardly important," Frodo chimed in again, "he looks like he could have died tonight. That's what matters. This drinking is gonna get you killed."

Legolas, who had finally managed to sit, lowered his head, avoiding eye contact with anyone. "I know."

"Then why does this keep happening?" Bilbo demanded

Legolas said nothing.

"Fuck, Aragorn, could you just tuck him into bed or something? I can't look at him like this." 

Aragorn nodded. "Up you go," he said as he hauled him over his shoulder. "And when you wake, you and I are gonna have a nice. Long. Talk."

When he was gone from the room and the sound of a door shutting could be heard, Frodo looked over at his cousin, who now seemed more irritated than Aragorn. Bilbo returned the look and offered a sideways smile. "I really wish this kind of thing wouldn't happen."

"I know what you mean," Frodo replied.

"This is exactly what you were worried about wasn't it? Something that might break up the band." Just saying the words seemed to make Bilbo more forlorn.

"Oh my god, Bilbo....with everything that's going on right now, you somehow manage to only consider that I might be slightly upset with the consequences?" Frodo looked at him incredulously, his face stony and serious, until about ten seconds later, when he couldn't stand it any longer and broke into laughter. "That's just so...so sweet."

"That's not what I meant," Bilbo replied, his reddening face suggesting otherwise. But Frodo didn't seem too likely to believe him. "Besides," Bilbo continued, attempting to compose himself (unlike Frodo, who was still laughing heartily), "there are more important things at hand. Like the increasingly worsening alcoholism of our dear, dear friend." The words were only slight sardonic, and they luckily came out sounding only slightly dry, but Frodo didn't even seem to care one way or another.

Instead, he continued smiling widely and stepped towards the drummer, who was rapidly growing nervous. 

"Well," he said, stopping close enough to him that he could feel Bilbo's body heat, "he's fine now. I'm sure Aragorn's taking good care of him." 

Bilbo nodded, very confused but hardly in a position to argue. His heart was racing. And the speed in which he completely stopped caring about Legolas was almost frightening.

"But what I'm trying to understand," Frodo folded his arms and peered into Bilbo's eyes, "is the fact that you care so much about whether or not something would bother me."

There was a long pause and Bilbo was positively breathless. "I..." He began, struggling to find words that wouldn't sound ridiculous, "don't want you to be bothered."

Frodo laughed, then without hesitation, grabbed him by the collar and kissed him hard. It wasn't an unpleasant kiss. Perhaps a little rough, but the feeling of Bilbo's lips against his was delicious. And when the drummer's shock finally faded and he could feel his lips moving back against his, it was amazing. Perfect. Really just fucking fantastic.

When he finally pulled back, he said  
breathlessly, "I've wanted to do that for so long."

This time Bilbo laughed in reply. "What did I say earlier, 'pure innocence?' Fucking hell, Frodo," then he kissed the bassist back, his lips softly caressing his, making the kiss far more gently than Frodo's, and longer and more languorous. Frodo sighed and Bilbo smiled, then delved back into the wet heat of his mouth, tongue working it's way into it, replacing a large amount of the gentleness with pure lust, which Bilbo could actually feel began to press against Frodo, who had, without him even realizing, pressed himself tightly against him. A moan escaped him through the kiss as a sort of hyper-awareness began to affect him. The kiss, the groin pushing seductively against his own.

"How," Bilbo asked finally as he briefly pulled back from Frodo's lips, "long coming was this?"

"Too long," Frodo answered simply, his need to take Bilbo's lips again preventing him from saying any more. His hands were digging in his hair and their limps were growing entwined. An impossible lust was working between them and they didn't seem able to get enough of each other. 

"Wait!" Bilbo suddenly called out, "Weren't we cooking something?"

"The soup!" Frodo squeaked in realization

The two of them ran into the kitchen to find the pot boiling over and water all over the stove.

"Could be worse," Bilbo said happily. Frodo agreed and kissed him quickly and chastely before joining him in cleaning up and finishing the soup.


	6. How Many More Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No band au is complete without boredom-induced truth or dare!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have accidentally not-so-accidentally somewhat based this off of tumblr user love-tastes-like-lemon-juice's Spin the Zeppelin fic (which is amazing and I suggest everyone read it)
> 
> I also originally meant for this to be way more explicit, but it seemed kinda out of place so I changed it

"SO BORED," Legolas declared loudly and suddenly, lying on his back with his hands over his eyes on the spacious hotel bed.

Aragorn, sitting on the floor against the wall, tuning his guitar, grunted in agreement.

"I'm sure there's something to do in this town..." Bilbo said nonchalantly. He was also on the floor, spread out beside Frodo's feet. 

Frodo was sitting quietly at a table, scribbling out something or another. "It's one in the morning, Bilbo. What can we possibly do?"

"More importantly," Aragorn added, "going out would require us to GO OUT. I'm really not tempted to do so right now."

Legolas groaned and rolled over, his hands landing on top of his head and his face in a very fluffy pillow. "So bored," he said again, quieter and very muffled. 

"Can't we just do something here then?" Aragorn said, taking his pick from his mouth, finally content with the tuning and prepared to play when Bilbo replied incredulously, "what, like spin the bottle?"

"Yea," Aragorn glared at him, "like spin the fucking bottle that's what I meant."

"Come on guys," Legolas lifted his head and looked over at the newly brewing argument, "I don't wanna fight right now I just wanna do something fun."

"Well maybe Bilbo wasn't too off." Frodo looked down at the drummer, "what about truth or dare? I know it sounds dumb, but..."

"Yeah!" Legolas agreed quickly, "yeah I think that'd be great!" 

"Really? That was..." Frodo was cut off again by the excessively loud answer from Aragorn, "Truth or dare, yeah! Great." He sounded sarcastic, but it seemed to everyone else to be laced with legitimate zeal, which Bilbo found himself laughing thoroughly about, "alright, yeah, I'm in." 

"Who's starting?"

"I say Legolas, being that he's the one insisting we do something."

Legolas shook out his hair and sat up towards the edge of the bed. "Alright," he began with a wide smile plastered on his face, "Aragorn, truth or dare."

Aragorn raised his brows. First pick. Awesome. "Truth I guess?" Largely because dare would require him to move.

Legolas narrowed his eyes at him, his grin creeping even wider. The rhythm section leaned in mock-dramatically towards them, eager to hear the results of this. 

"You actually really wanted to play didn't you?" He said after proper dramatic pause.

Aragorn shrugged, nonchalance attempting to disguise his embarrassment. "I never got to play as a kid."

Legolas laughed, "Tragic!" Frodo and Bilbo rolled their eyes, the anticlimax clearly upsetting them.

"Bilbo!" Aragorn exclaimed, pointing at him almost angrily, "truth or dare!"

"Truth?"

"You were serious about your suggestion we play spin the bottle weren't you?" 

Bilbo's mouth opened in outrage, his brows furrowed, ready to argue with serious vehemence and vitriol. But instead he looked aside into the hall and calmed his expression, "yeah, kinda."

Frodo eyed him curiously.

"What?" Bilbo shot at the bassist. He shrugged. "Well, here, truth or dare," he replied, as if it were punishment rather than the natural order of the game.

Frodo thought for a minute, weighed all the pros and cons of each option, eventually answering with, "dare."

"Oooo a risk-taker," Legolas laughed from the bed, on which he was now lying prone, his head resting in his hands.

As Bilbo took his time thinking something up, Frodo began to get slightly nervous and started playing with his thumbs while waiting for an answer. 

When he had finally thought something up, he looked up smugly, staring Frodo straight in the eye and saying, "I dare you to kiss me."

Aragorn laughed, "using the game for your own benefit. Wicked, man."

Frodo smiled at Bilbo warmly, shaking his head and saying quietly "silly," before lowering himself from his chair and sitting at his level. He looked into his sparkling eyes and could see nothing but good humor, as usual, then closed his own eyes and leaned in, taking his lips in a deep kiss that was almost over-sensual for the situation. Bilbo moaned slightly towards the end and Legolas and Aragorn both giggled, which Bilbo immediately returned with a glare. Frodo just grinned at all of them, proud of his work.

But then he focused on Legolas, and after some time, said, "Truth or dare"

Legolas answered "dare" without very much thought, but then seemed to have regretted it immediately afterwards. Having already thought up a dare, Frodo replied, "I dare you to openly declare your love for Aragorn and then kiss him hard."

Legolas looked appalled at the suggestion. He glanced at Aragorn and felt very awkward as their eyes slowly met, but an unwarranted fuzziness filled him at it nonetheless.

The two of them by this point had never really acknowledged anything between them, despite their actions highly suggesting otherwise. They had written those off as drunken idiocy in the heat of the moment, but now, as they blushed and looked away, it seemed to be a little bit harder to maintain that illusion.

However, being that the game was in place, Legolas decided he would use it to his advantage. If he jokingly went overboard, it would just seem like game antics. Nothing real here. 

"Aragorn," He declared with his full voice as he climbed off the bed, "I love you." 

Aragorn nodded, expecting what came next, though not quite expecting the butterflies he got as Legolas approached him, eyes bright and warm, smiling gently. 

But the kiss was furious. He seemed not to have taken the "kiss him hard" aspect lightly, and his mouth was all pillaging, rough and selfish, wanting nothing more than all of Aragorn. He bit his lip as it got a bit more fierce and the guitarist pulled back.

"God Legolas, learn how to kiss," he said, putting his fingers to his swollen lips.

"Like you weren't into it," Legolas rolled his eyes, then replied quieter, "but you'll just have to teach me how you wanna be kissed then."

Aragorn waggled his eyebrows in agreement.

"Well, that was interesting," Frodo said at length, "Legolas it's your turn."

Still occasionally touching his lips, Aragorn replied while waiting for Legolas to think, "you know, it seems like Bilbo got his 'spin the bottle' wish anyway."

Bilbo laughed the hardest, looking over at Frodo, "I think that was by design."

"Hey!" Frodo called out, "it's not my fault you're all horny idiots! I just wanted to play truth or dare." 

"Sure, sure," Legolas said drolly. "Well, you know, we may as well change the game's paradigm if we're all on the same page as horny idiots." He seemed to have finally made his decision and stared right through Frodo's soul as he asked him "truth or dare"

Frodo stared back, eyes boring into boring eyes. The intensity was unmatched. "Truth."

"Pussy." Frodo hummed in agreement, easily happy to say that he was not eager to take part in what Legolas might think up as a dare.

"Have you two," he nodded over at Bilbo, "had sex yet?"

Frodo could feel himself blushing and knew everyone else could see it.

"Hey that's not fair," Bilbo piped up, but Frodo waved him off.

"We MAY have," he said, even though in reality they DEFINITELY had. Most. Definitely.

Legolas suddenly looked very much like a schoolgirl, squealing and asking, "oh my god, I wanna hear about this. I want details!"

"Nah, you're only allowed one question, you gotta wait your turn on that," Frodo replied rather diplomatically, "because it is now my turn." He turned to Aragorn, eyes lot up mischievously, "and I've got a great one."

"Hmm?" Aragorn said, realizing after a minute that Frodo was picking on him for this one. "Truth. Can't imagine what dare you might do."

"Did you drink the last beer?"

Aragorn was silent for a while before finally narrowing his eyes and letting his gaze slide to his side, "Fuck."

The booing that ensued was thunderous.


	7. Bron-Yr-Aur

They sat there, squished together on the one overstuffed couch. 

"We've got to figure this out," Aragorn said determinedly after the lengthiest silence he had ever lived through.

"I don't think we've ever been this stuck before," Frodo moaned, his head in his hands. "No one's had an original idea for weeks."

"Hey, I had an idea!" Legolas complained, "but you guys shot it down!"

"Beer and groupies is NOT an idea," Bilbo griped, eyeing Legolas savagely. 

"You guys just have no creative vision!"

"Legolas, if you don't shut up, I'm gonna knock you in the jaw," said Aragorn. He shut up immediately.

"Okay, so how about we just pick a key and roll with it?" Frodo offered.

"It's a start at least," conceded Aragorn.

"A start's all we need," Bilbo agreed.

None of them moved, and they all just looked at each other. It was hopeless.

Eventually, Aragorn leaned back into the couch, sighing, and said, "maybe would should give Lego's idea a shot."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got writer's block, they've got writer's block. What can ya do.


	8. Tea For One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it's been over a year since I started this .-.

The after-show feeling still vibrated through Aragon’s skin. It was a peculiar sensation, like a warm buzzing from all the noise of the music and the crowd, mingling in with the leftover adrenaline from performing. Plus he was a little buzzed from the beer he was drinking.

He was sitting by himself at a bar by their hotel. He had no idea where his band-mates were, but he assumed Frodo and Bilbo were up to their usual after-show romp (which unfortunately, he had witnessed himself on multiple occasions), and Legolas was likely off chasing some groupie, as he was so fond of doing these days. 

He had no problem with it, really. He and Legolas had never really made any formal statement of feelings, so it didn’t really matter too much if he went after other company. He did wish that his band-mates were around more though. Recently, he had found himself rarely seeing them outside of practice and performances, and it was a little disappointing. 

He could have, of course, gone along with Legolas and picked up some groupies of his own. But he really wasn’t in the mood for it. And it wasn’t because he was in a bad mood. It was more of the opposite- he was relatively happy, so he just didn’t feel the need to try to lift his spirits with booze and floozies.  
Although admittedly the thought of Legolas seeking those so adamantly dampened his spirits a little. He was worried most of the time when he thought of Legolas, and he wished he didn’t have to be. 

With a sigh he finished off his drink and slid his chair back, slipping off the seat and getting onto his feet. All he decided he could do, out of lack of anything better to do, was return to the hotel. Maybe he could read a book or something.

It was dark out, and surprisingly few people were on the streets, so the walk back was lonelier than usual, and fairly cold, but it gave him time to think, which he appreciated, even though he didn’t manage to think about anything useful. 

He did think a lot about Legolas. He tried to tell himself that he held nothing against him, but he couldn’t deny the mix of jealousy, concern, and at least five other difficult emotions throbbing in the back of his mind. He just didn’t understand what was happening. It had been weeks since they properly talked, and he could feel Legolas pulling apart from him, as well as pulling himself apart. He was drinking again, and he and everyone else knew it was a problem. 

But Aragorn failed to understand how this kept happening. What was going through Legolas’ mind that was making him want to drink himself to death all the time? 

To say he was concerned was an understatement.

But he was tired, and when he got back to his hotel room, all thoughts of staying up later, reading or watching TV or something, faded. He just wanted some sleep.  
But when he saw the discarded plate of half-picked food lying outside his door, he perked up a bit. Who ordered room service? Maybe Legolas had mistaken Aragorn’s room for his and brought his party here. The prospect both excited and worried him. He listened to the door, hoping to catch something. There was nothing. Very strange.

And opening the door to see Legolas laying on the bed watching TV was even more strange. 

“Oh hey,” Legolas said casually. Aragorn looked around the hotel suspiciously to make sure no one else was there. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Just watching some TV,” Legolas replied, only pulling his attention away from the set for a second to look at Aragorn.

“No, I mean what are you doing here? Why aren’t you in your room?”

He looked at him quizzically. “I am in my room. You’re- this is my room isn’t it?”

Aragorn stared. Legolas took that as a no. “Oh,” he said eventually, his voice betraying the mildest hint of apology, “Wanna watch Family Feud with me?”

Deciding not to push the issue, Aragorn shrugged, toed off his shoes, and hopped onto the bed, positioning himself perfectly for TV-viewing. 

He wanted to ask Legolas why he was here instead of out having fun and getting drunk, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment. So instead he just stayed, occasionally shouting out obvious answers at the screen and laughing at Legolas’ comments on the participants, and silently reveling in the warm smile Legolas had for the first time in forever.


End file.
